This infographic by BackgroundCheck.org provides a great timeline of Google feature rollouts and some of their largest privacy breaches. It also suggests ways for users to reduce tracking of their online actions. It’s definitely worth a scan.

This infographic, from OnlineSchools.com titled “The Millennial Teenager” has some great stats to help you understand the devices teens and millennials (18-34-year-olds) use, what they’re doing about their privacy, and how they split their time between multiple devices and technologies. It’s a fun, and informative read.

A new infographic showing the social media marketing landscape was unveiled by Buddy Media this month and though the intent was to show how complicated the marketing world has become, it is also an excellent representation of someof the companies fighting to make money off of your information. It’s staggering.

While not every company listed here is collecting or sharing your information – like the URL shorteners – most of these companies would not exist if it were not for the personal information shared online.

Make no mistake, it’s all about the money. You and your information are commodities driving a multi-billion dollar ecosystem. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this business model – you gain tremendous benefits from the internet and all the tools and services it provides – it’s critical that every user to understands just how far their information may be spread and why managing the information they share, and with whom they share it is critical.

The good news is that just over 80% of the U.S. population has at least some security protection in place on their computers; the bad news is that 19.32% of computers in the U.S. still have no protection at all according to a new study by McAfee[i].

Among the countries tested, the US placed among the bottom 5 – with worse security protection rates than countries like China and India.

That’s grim news, but even worse was the study’s finding that 96% of tablets and smartphones lack security software in spite of these devices being fully capable computers storing sensitive personal and financial information. The lack of smartphone device security is exacerbated by the number of Android users who have installed “antivirus protection” yet the services they downloaded actually fail to provide any protection – learn more in my blog Most Users with Free Android Antivirus Scanners aren’t Protected.

With cybercrime rates skyrocketing what’s driving the security gap?

The lack of security protection on PC’s is not a cost issue. For less than a penny a day, consumers can be protected by strong security software

If consumers in countries with low average incomes like India and China can afford security software, so can Americans.

A few quick searches show steep discounts on 1-year subscriptions to for-pay security products with excellent reputations and broad security coverage:

A 50% discount offer on McAfee’s Internet Security Center 2012, making the cost just $39.99

A 50% discount on TrendMicro’s Titanium security 2012, dropping the cost to $39.95

A 40% discount on AVG’s Internet Security 2012, dropping the cost to $32.99

A 50% discount on Kapersky’s Internet Security 2012, dropping the cost to $39.97

And so on.

If a penny a day is still too steep a price, there are good free alternatives. To find these products, search on the term “best free security software” or read PCMagazine’s February 2012 article The Best Free Antivirus for 2012.

If the lack of security protect isn’t due to cost, then it’s due to the lack of effective education

For those in the internet industry or internet safety education worlds, it feels like the message that every single computer and computing device must be protected has been talked and promoted to death. Apparently, it hasn’t been.

The data shows that we haven’t explained the personal and broader security risks to the 1-in-5 unprotected computer owners in a way they find compelling and motivates them to takeaction.

What are we missing? How is it that countries where far less has been spent educating consumers have more users leveraging protection software?

Have we not shown well enough the cause-and- effect between unsecured computers and identity theft, malware, spam, unusable computers, and so on?

Have we not helped consumers understand how easy it is to download and install security software?

Have we not explained how low cost (or free) the insurance premiums are for protecting computers?

As an industry, these are questions that must be answered if we are to succeed in creating a safer and more secure online environment – not just for the ~20% who aren’t leveraging these tools today, but for the entire internet ecosystem.

Ranking of Countries by Percentage of Consumers Unprotected

Ranking

Country Ranking by Percentage of

Consumers Unprotected

Percentage

1

Singapore

21.75

2

Mexico

21.57

3

Spain

21.37

4

Japan

19.35

5

US

19.32

6

China

18.02

7

Canada

17.92

8

Ireland

17.57

9

Korea

17.55

10

India

17.32

11

Philippines

17.12

12

Sweden

16.92

13

Malaysia

16.77

14

UK

16.5

15

Norway

15.72

Australia

15.72

16

Netherlands

15.7

Brazil

15.7

17

France

15.17

18

Denmark

14.9

19

New Zealand

14.77

20

Germany

14.47

21

Italy

13.8

22

Finland

9.67

(No Anti-Virus istalled or the software was installed, but disabled) Source: McAfee

Linda

[i] The McAfee study was conducted in 24 countries, and analyzed data from 27-28 million PCs each month, to determine a global estimate of the number of consumers who have basic security software.

A new infographic by BackgroundCheck does an excellent job of highlighting the issues surrounding requests for access to personal social networking sites by employers, would-be employers, government agencies, law enforcement, colleges and other groups. Check it out:

You’ve seen CAPCHA’S – Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart – on plenty of websites, the words are scrambled, twisted, wavy, or embellished with lines, wiggles , (even overlaid with images of cats), and are designed to be decipherable by humans, yet block automated programs from getting into websites.

The problem is that all too often they’re NOT decipherable. You’ve probably cursed the darn things on numerous occasions as you fail – repeatedly – to figure out the characters and are presented with a new set of largely indecipherable options.

If you’re among the millions frustrated with wiggles and dots, take heart. I’ve recently seen very cool security checks that allow you to pass the ‘human’ test by applying basic logic. AMEN!

In the example shown below, users are asked to identify a number in a sequence based on instructions, and it was such a pleasant experience that I’m recommending companies switch methods. The key is to have infinite number of variables, some spelled, some shown numerically so a automated system can’t simply recognize a few options.

Is it possible an advanced scripted program could figure out the logic? Probably. But there are additional tests that can be performed to identify non-humans by their interactions on a site, and that don’t put humans through visual contortions.

Today the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Ad Council have launched a new campaign to discourage teens – and all drivers – from texting while driving. This campaign, and those like it, are vital elements in reducing the number of tragic deaths and injuries caused by distracted drivers.

However, campaigns alone will not solve the problem. Stiffer fines, laws, and penalties will not alone solve the problem. What we need is a cultural shift making texting while driving an unacceptable behavior, and for that to happen every single person has a clear role to play. Please play your role.